Luxury travel
The trip you will remember longest is usually the one that was paced correctly. We plan honeymoons that start slow, build in something worth doing, and get you home without a nineteen hour connection at the end of it.
Almost every honeymoon that disappoints does so for the same reason: it is one place for too long, or four places for too short. The shape that works, over ten to fourteen days, is two stops. Somewhere restful first, while you are still recovering from the wedding, then somewhere with texture once you have slept.
Three stops works at sixteen days or more. Below ten days, one destination done properly beats two done in transit.
Weather windows matter more than anything else on a honeymoon, because you have one shot at them. This is the shortlist we work from.
| Month | Strong | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| January–February | Maldives, Thailand, Rajasthan, Costa Rica, Cape Town | Northern Europe, East Africa short rains tail |
| March–April | Japan, Morocco, Greece shoulder, Mexico Pacific coast | Southeast Asia peak heat, India after mid April |
| May–June | Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Kenya and Tanzania | Caribbean as hurricane season opens, Kerala monsoon |
| July–August | Iceland, Scandinavia, Botswana, Peru | Southern Europe crowds and heat, Caribbean |
| September–October | Greece and Italy late season, Japan, South Africa | Caribbean and Mexico storm peak |
| November–December | Maldives, Sri Lanka south, Vietnam, Mexico, Argentina | Northern India smog window, Sri Lanka east coast |
Five nights on an overwater or beach villa to recover, then a short hop to Sri Lanka for tea country, a safari at Yala and two nights on the south coast. Excellent vegetarian food throughout and one of the easiest long haul pairings from North America via the Gulf carriers.
Three nights in a city, four on the Amalfi Coast or in Puglia, and four in Tuscany or the Dolomites. Drivable, no internal flights required, and the easiest itinerary to build around a couple who want to eat well and move slowly.
Six or seven nights across two conservancies, then five on the coast. Private conservancies rather than the main reserve give you night drives, walking and no queue of vehicles at a sighting. Book eighteen months out for July to October.
Tokyo, a ryokan in Hakone or Kyoto, and Kyoto itself, connected by rail. The best choice for couples who do not want a beach, and the one destination where a good guide changes the trip most.
Nine to twelve months out for peak season safari, Maldives over Christmas and New Year, or Japan in cherry blossom season. Six months is comfortable for most of Europe and the Caribbean. Under three months we can still do good work, but the choice of hotel narrows quickly.
